Nevada One Step Closer to Regulating Online Poker

The Nevada Gaming Commission approved a set of online poker regulation December 22 which gives license to internet poker making it legal and regulated. This online poker regulation was said to debut in the United States this year.

The regulation was not completely fixed yet as there would still be federal bills and state efforts that will happen in 2012. It was not certain as to where this regulation would be promulgated; it could be under the national network, intrastate within Nevada, or interstate under Nevada.

It was clear how Nevada still wanted to be in the center of online poker, just as it was already the very heart of gambling in the U.S. The legislation that passed the regulation gave Nevada the freedom to establish the framework of the said online regulation. The Nevada Gaming Commission started accepting applications for companies planning to run poker sites. Ceasars Entertainment and Boyd Gaming already sent in their requests. Those who are granted with this license will be free to begin running the games to players living in Nevada.

Companies who already have regular Nevada licenses will only have to wait a short period of time. 90 days or less is the estimated time but it may take a little bit longer because internal controls must be formed.

Some states can create their own regulations regarding online poker. California and New Jersey might want to create their own set of rules while some states may just want to let Nevada take over and show them how it’s done. But all these will be possible once the federal bill has been passed.

John Pappas, the executive director of the Poker Players Alliance said, “Nevada is essentially moving ahead without a federal law, Should it become federal law, I think Nevada will be in the position to be one of the first states certified to issue licenses. I think a lot of states would rather not take the regulatory burden upon themselves and would say what’s good enough for Nevada is good enough for us.”

The main regulations made by the Nevada Gaming Corporation include disallowing player fund transfers, rule of having only a single account per player, paying celebrity players for promotions but without garnering profits beyond the rake, maintaining a reserve of cash, and allowing affiliates. There are a lot more others, but these are the most notable.

These regulations weren’t fixed yet and the Nevada Gaming Corporation can add, subtract, or change anything from the regulations whenever they want. Nevada having regulations when it comes to online poker could make congressmen remain on the fence regarding the issues surrounding it.

With trust in the regulations, Pappas said, “I think it shows Congress that the most prominent gaming state in the country is ready to regulate this activity and believes it can be regulated.”